The Future of Reading
In a way, a book is its own self-contained world. Reading a book opens that world up a fraction, exposing it to the reader’s perspective and expectations. But what would happen to that self-contained world if we could write directly on its pages, read notes others have written in the margins, and have online discussions about the material with classmates or with fellow readers around the world, all within the book’s covers? I envision reading in the future as a much more interactive experience. Watch the concept video on the future of reading below. Then continue reading for more details on my thought process leading up to its creation.
Background
Consider the Internet as a form of modern man’s collective memory. For the past thirty years, the Internet has served as a shared repository for human knowledge. Like our brains, its content and linkages change constantly. New connections cluster around the passing interests of the day, while older material succumbs to link rot and is eventually forgotten. Many individuals cooperate to keep this collective running, growing, and indexed, to the point where there are already more web addresses in existence than living people on Earth.
Despite its impressive proliferation, we have not yet realized the Internet’s potential as a tool for reflection. A prerequisite for reflection is the accumulation of experience and, like a baby trying to make sense of its world, we are still early in the process of harnessing our collective memory for intentional use. Nevertheless, we have reached a stage where we can take a step back and recognize potential for insight.
We have already begun building tools to enable reflection. The Internet Archive Wayback Machine provides a portal to cached versions of websites dating back to 1996, enabling us to revisit portions of the Internet as they existed in the past. Wikis enable a more intensive, real-time form of revision tracking by simultaneously inviting people to modify content and keeping meticulous records of every modification and its author. Even traditional content creators are looking at ways to add opportunities for reflection to the readers’ experience; in June 2008, The New York Times introduced a website feature called TimesPeople that allows readers to comment on and share content with their online social networks directly from its website.
As we continue to invent and grow into our new capabilities, the experience of reading transforms from one of solitary study and contemplation to one that is communal and interactive. This project allowed me to explore the impact of collective memory on the evolution of reading by visualizing, in a time-based piece, a future reading experience in which the reader reflects on content by engaging with the collective memory of that content.
Project Details
Course
Graduate Design Studio I, Fall 2009
Duration
4 weeks